Walk Into School And Class For The First Time Since High School

Growing up, school was not a major factor in my life. I come from a hard-working, middle-class military family. My mother, a Filipino immigrant, was a homemaker. My father was a 21-year United States Marine veteran. They were my first impression of what I thought my future would be. Being the youngest of four children, I was expected to fall in line behind my siblings when it came to education. I was never pushed to excel in my studies, so I did just enough to get by. As I watched friends escape the grasp of a military town and ascend to their respective colleges, I was left wondering what was next for me. I attended my local community college for a brief period of time. I treated college no different than high school. I

When I graduated high school I had no idea what I wanted to do, all I knew is I was done with public school and could live my life as what I thought an adult was. My father and most of my family believed it was important for me to go to college, and get a kick start with my life. Though they weren’t wrong, I had no idea what I wanted to do and no discipline to do my studies to the full extent of my abilities.

Graduating high school was an exciting time, but I felt lost. I wasn't sure of my career goals or what I wanted to accomplish at University. When I first decided to attend community college, I felt hesitant because I did not take the traditional route like my other classmates. However, community college was cheaper and would give me time to figure out the career path I wanted to take.

That’s when I knew I had to take control of my life. I began looking for GED programs and came across alternative high schools. I applied to Innovation Diploma Plus High School and went to the school for an interview. The adviser, Mr. Polanco told me I didn’t have the minimum requirements which were 10 credits and 1 regent exam. He told me I had to return to my school and pass my classes and reapply. At this point I felt discouraged, the teachers in my school weren’t willing to help me because of the impression they had of me. A few days later my mom received a call saying I was accepted into Innovation Diploma Plus and I knew this was the clean slate and I can become the person I knew I could be. Mr. Polanco told me that he convinced the principle of the school to take a chance on me although I was missing 1-course credit. I worked super hard to make sure I wasn’t another Spanish girl on the welfare line with a baby and no education in a state that offers education for free. In Innovation Diploma Plus, I received 35 credits in a year and a half. I was attending regular classes, classes after school, I even switched my lunch period for another

When I was seventeen, fresh out of high school, I did not have a clue what I wanted to do or where I was headed in my life. I worked two jobs and stayed up all night studying. I got married and had my first child which led me to drop out and started working full time.

Who knew High School would be over in a blink of an eye? Four short years and a whole chapter of your life is over. The goal everyone was striving to achieve was completed, yet an even bigger thing was approaching “Life”. All 365 of us would venture out into the world and start new journeys hundreds of miles apart.

Through many life obstacles I was not very fortunate or goal driven to attempt to go to college after high school. Grew up in a military family so my family was stricter about keeping their children

Young adults are now living on their own, having to balance money and to pay rent, and to have the discipline to get up for school with no one making you. The people at college were there because they wanted to be. I, unfortunately, did not want to be, so I made it apparent in other ways. Having that new found independence does not have to be a bad thing. For me, I would skip class because no one made me go. I would stay out to the late hours of the night because no one told me I had to be home. I would make poor choices because I would not listen to anyone. For me, my new found independence did not work out so well. I was young, naive, and careless. Now I am smarter. No one is paying for me to be in college. I am. No one is forcing me to go; I want to be there. I want to make something of myself and not have this guilt hang over my shoulders anymore. I want to say I have a degree and be the best role model that my children can have. I may not have “new” found independence, but I had the courage to finally forgive myself and try again. It took me many years to convince myself to go back to college. Am I too old now? Am I smart enough? I finally had to put all my doubts aside and give this college thing another try. I am different now. I am older and wiser, and this is my

I decided to go to College when I was about 23 years old. I did well in college. My college classes focused me to have to come out of

I grew up in a single-parent, low-income home outside of Santa Rosa, California. The idea of college wasn’t introduced to me until long after I had already become just another statistic. I dropped out of high school when I was 17, in the midst of a teenage rebellion, thinking I already knew everything and didn’t need anyone’s help. I left home, got a job at a fast food restaurant, and stayed with friends off and on until I realized that maybe I didn’t know everything quite yet. After a severe reality check, I found a sense of responsibility that encouraged me to get my G.E.D and find a great job. I was very determined to take everything I learned as a child and use it as a what-not-to-do guide. By the time I was 19, I bought my first house and quickly realized I could either set limitations with excuses or achieve goals with endurance. The

For the most part, I grew up in an urban neighborhood, raised by a single mother of six. For a long time, I believed that I was a product of my environment. I never had any ambitions, inspiration, or motivation when I was growing up. So advancing my educational to the next level after high school wasn’t a big deal. Going to college was never a thought for me. While in high school, I even opted out of taking my SAT. I have decided to go to college at this juncture in my life because of personal, career opportunity, and financial reasons.

The next year, my junior year, I started to become a more social person. Not having the proper guidance to balance my education and social life, I started slacking. I pretty much gave up on school, moved out of my parents’ house at 17, and thought I had the world figured out. Somehow I still managed to graduate with a 3.2, but I never gave college a half a thought. I was busy being an idiot.

Losing friends, meeting new people, first job, first car, boyfriend, getting my license. Throughout the last four years of high school I’ve experienced a lot of new things and learned a lot on the way. I remember walking into school on the first day of freshman year; I was thinking that these are going to be a very long couple of years. I was wrong; these past four years have gone by so fast, so I guess my dad was right when he said they’d fly by.

When people start high school they’re usually so excited. They can’t wait to experience everything that comes with being in high school, I mean who wouldn’t? Everyone says that high school is the best four years of your life. Now that I’m months away from graduating, I can’t say they were my best years but I can say they were my most educational years, of course I wouldn’t say that they weren’t fun because they were. When I say educational, I mean I’ve learned so much about myself and so much about life. I learned what the words family, love, betrayal, law and life meant. All these events changed me, and I’m glad they happened because I wouldn’t have learned all these lessons. My personality hasn’t changed; I’m still a carefree girl,

It was 2016, and I was finally a senior in high school. Being a senior in high school was something that I had dreamed of since my early middle school days, and at last, I was there. It was the last year in one of my least favorite environments, and I couldn’t wait to graduate and move away from the only place I had ever known. I had lived in the same town for seventeen years, and I had gone to the same school with the same people for thirteen years. I was looking forward to something new in my life. I was most excited for my senior year because it was the year that I was going to choose where I wanted to move away to and what school I wanted to spend the next four years of my life at. As the year moved along, I slowly realized that I wasn’t moving away and that I’d be staying home to attend college, which was one of the most difficult decisions that I ever had to make.